Bluetongue restriction zones named

Thursday 4 January 2007 00:10 BST

The first restriction zones in Britain in response to the spread of bluetongue disease have been named as Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.

EU veterinary experts meeting in Brussels added the four counties to existing restriction zones in place in parts of France, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Portugal, citing the latest outbreak of bluetongue in Suffolk.

That means farmers in those counties will not benefit from a separate decision to lift a meat and lamb export ban from most of Britain on October 12 if there are no more outbreaks of foot and mouth disease.

East Anglia Labour MEP Richard Howitt had earlier urged Environment Secretary Hilary Benn to keep markets open, and lift the UK's own 150 kilometre deep "protection and surveillance zone", with control measures in place around the farms where cattle were hit by bluetongue.

Afterwards Mr Howitt commented: "The control zone may have been a sensible first measure to act quickly to stop bluetongue spreading, but it is preventing our farmers from purchasing cattle and sheep from other parts of the country and using the abattoirs they need.

"Hilary Benn maintained that the control zone restrictions currently in place are the minimum required to help control the spread of the disease, but he assured me that he understands the concerns of the local farmers and promised that real progress is being made in developing vaccines with which we can defeat this disease."

Mr Howitt welcomed the planned end of the meat export ban imposed after the foot and mouth outbreak, but regretted that East Anglian farmers separately caught up in bluetongue disease would now not benefit: "Britain is at the forefront of arguing to lift the ban on exporting meat and meat products, which is worth two million pounds per day to our farmers and it is disappointing that East Anglian farmers are to be denied the benefit.

"There is no question of bluetongue being passed to humans, and if it is safe for British people to eat East Anglian meat then it is safe for the French and Germans too."

The EU vets - national veterinary experts from the 27 EU countries - approved a European Commission proposal to amend EU rules on bluetongue, bringing them more in line with World Animal Health Organisation rules.

The aim is closer co-ordination of national monitoring and control of bluetongue in the EU.